Heritage's Edge
by LdyKiya
Summary: Updated Revised Beta'd! Harry learns that his mother was immortal and as a result hernis to. Now he must not only train to defeat Voldermort but also to survive the game. Founders Heir, SuperPower!Harry. Post OoTP, Highlander Crossover, Alternate Univer
1. Chapter 1

_October 21st, 1981_

_We are to go into hiding soon and I fear that we have chosen the traitor as our Secret Keeper. I have said so more than once to James, but he will not listen. I do not fear for my life, as no one in the wizarding world knows the truth of me and therefore Voldemort will not know how to kill me. But I do fear for my child. Should the Avada Kedavra be inflicted on him, the trauma would activate the Quickening and he would live forever as an aging mind in an infant's body. I must research a way to protect him from this._

_October 25th, 1981_

_I have found it! I have learned that I may call upon my own Quickening and give it to my son. Once I have transferred it, I will be but a mortal witch. This is a small price to pay to ensure that my child will grow up. Should the killing curse ever be turned on him, it will 'kill' my Quickening and leave Harry's un-activated and able to protect him at another time in his life. I will perform the spells tonight while James meets with Albus._

Harry closed his eyes as tears leaked out. He had once again been ordered back to Privet Drive by Dumbledore at the end of the school year, despite the fact that more than one person tried to talk him into letting Harry stay at Headquarters. The Order members had decided that if Dumbledore insisted Harry go back, they would do what they could to insure he was treated better. His aunt had taken the warnings from the Order seriously and had not given him any chores, even going so far as to dig around in the attic to locate his mother's school trunk for him.

He had never guessed at the secrets he would find within the pages of the journals he had unearthed at the bottom of the trunk. Not only was he not related to Petunia Dursley by blood, a fact that apparently Dumbledore knew, his mother was Immortal; meaning she could have lived forever and apparently went around cutting people's heads off! Of course, because his mother was Immortal, so was he. So even if he did manage to defeat Voldemort, he was still going to have to run for the rest of his life, checking over his shoulder to see if there was someone with a sword waiting to hack away at his neck!

When Harry had decided to go through the trunk, he had hoped to take his mind off of Sirius's death and the prophecy. He never imagined finding a new set of problems. He couldn't tell the wizarding world of his Immortality -- that much was made clear by his mother's journal -- so what should he do now?

Harry wiped his eyes before picking up the journal to continue reading. He could only hope that somewhere within it he might find a clue that would help him.

_October 29th, 1981_

_I have performed the spell and I know that it worked. I can already feel the loss of my Quickening. I know now I will not see my little boy grow up to be a man. It will not be me that teaches him to tie his shoes or sing Christmas carols nor will I be there to teach him to wield his sword. I can only hope that he finds a teacher as good as Adam Pierson, who taught me._

That was the answer. His mother's teacher, Adam Pierson, was an Immortal and unless someone had taken his head in the last 20 years, he was still around.

Harry quickly reached for his quill and parchment, planning to send a plea to this Adam person to teach him as he had taught his mother.


	2. Chapter 2

Adam sat at his desk, contemplating gift ideas for his lover, Duncan, when a beautiful, snowy owl soared through his office window and landed on his desk. Cocking his head to the side, he gazed at the owl thoughtfully. It had been years since he had been contacted by anyone in the wizarding world, not since his last student, Lily, had gone into hiding.

"Well, hello, beautiful. Who are you?" he asked as he reached out to stroke the owl's silky plumage.

Hedwig have a soft hoot and extended her leg with the attached letter.

As soon as Adam removed the letter, Hedwig flew to the top of one of the book-filled shelves that lined the office walls, tucking her head under her wing and settling herself in for a nap.

"Must have been quite the trip, then," Adam mumbled to himself, unrolling the scroll of parchment and settling back into his leather office chair to read his mail.

_Dear Mr. Pierson, _

_My name is Harry Potter. My mother's name was Lily Potter, formerly Lily Evans. I have recently come in to possession of some old journals of my mother's. She mentioned that you were the one to teach her to protect herself. _

_My mother died before my second birthday and I have no one to teach me. I am hoping that you remember her with fondness and would be willing to teach her son._

_I don't know anything of your (my?) kind and I am a little confused. You are the only person I have heard of who knows about this and, well, if it's not a lot of bother, could you owl me back? Maybe you would know someone nearer to me who could help a bit._

_Hedwig, my owl, will wait until you can answer, or if you don't want to, you don't have to, just tell her, and she'll come home._

_Sorry to bother you, and thanks._

_Sincerely,_

_Harry Potter_

_#4 Privet Drive_

_Surrey, England_

Adam blinked at the parchment in his hands a couple of times before closing his eyes with a loud groan. How in the hell was he going to explain this to Duncan?

"I can just see it… 'Hey Duncan, not only is magic real, but I'm a mage! And because of my magic, I -- unlike you -- can father children. And on top of that, one of my descendants is an Immortal wizard who needs training'… Right. Duncan would hand me a beer and tell me that I'm growing delusional in my old age."

"That would pretty much describe the thoughts going through my mind at the moment," Duncan said from the doorway.

Adam blinked once at his lover, who was leaning against the door jam with his arms crossed. Duncan looked on in amusement as Adam closed his eyes, groaned and slouched down in his chair.

"So maybe you should explain what's going on?" Duncan enquired as he pushed away from the door frame and moved to settle himself in one of the two chairs in front of Adam's desk.

"Right explain… I suppose I should start with the fact that there is an entire magical community complete with their own government that is kept hidden from most of the world. This community is filled with wizards and witches as well as other mystical or magical animals and plants. "Adam took a deep breath "I am a wizard."

Adam looked up to gauge Duncan's reaction, but when Duncan didn't say anything, Adam continued. "Now, 'wizard' is just a generic name that is applied to all magical males, the way that 'Christian' is applied to Catholics, Lutherans and a host of other religions, the magical world is filled with wizards and witches of varying power levels and creeds. The strongest are called Silver Mages, which is what I am Silver Mages by themselves are not immortal; 'The Game' is something else, something even older then I am, however, a mortal Silver Mage can live upwards of three thousand years. Merlin, for example, was a Silver Mage who lived to be two thousand eight hundred and forty-seven years old"

Adam paused and rubbed a hand across his forehead, a little uncertain of Duncan's reaction to the true scope of his powers, especially since he hadn't said a word yet.

"Silver Mages have what is called Will Magic. We can basically Will anything and everything in and out of existence. Well, I shouldn't say anything and everything; there are limits to what my power can do. For instance, I couldn't Will World Hunger out of existence, although feeding a city of a few thousand is well with my powers."

"If you have this magic, why don't you ever use it?" Duncan questioned his lover; Maybe Adam's earlier comment about age making him delusional wasn't too far off…. Duncan couldn't exactly deny that magic existed; he had seen it before -- you couldn't live in this world for more than five hundred years and not see some pretty amazing things -- but an entire hidden wizarding world?

"I do use magic. You just don't notice it. I am a good swordsman, probably on par with Connor. You, however, are exceptional. There are others out there who are nearly, if not just, as good as you, and I would never stand a chance against them without my magic. I just don't rely on my magic for every little thing I need. For instance conjured food, which may look great, still doesn't hold as many nutrients or taste as flavourful as the real deal."

With that, Adam called on his power and a plate of ham sandwiches popped into existence on his desk. "Go ahead, have a taste," he said, pushing the plate towards Duncan.

Duncan sat blinking at the plate of sandwiches for a minute before warily reaching forward and taking one. After taking a small bite, he looked over at his lover and replied, "Not really up to your standards." He really didn't know what else to say. He was at a loss as to how to react to the situation. The only thing he was positive was that he loved the Immortal in front of him and that meant struggling to understand this.

Adam gave a small chuckle. "Look at the sandwich, love. It's got everything I always put on it: Spicy mustard, mayo, lettuce, tomato, onion, Swiss cheese and honey ham on toasted sourdough. Like I said, conjured food, while it won't taste radically different than it's supposed to, will never taste as good as real food. The flavours will be dull. There are other limits. Say someone has a really great book I haven't read. I can't just conjure up a copy of the book, because I don't know what each and every page says or even how many pages it has. I would have to summon it from that person or go buy the book like everyone else. However, I could Will the book out of existence, provided I wanted to expend the energy to track down everyone who had ever heard of said book and erase it from their memories. Is this making sense?"

"Ok, I am following the magic thing, and obviously you have it, but how is it possible for you to father a child?" Duncan questioned.

"It is a combination of the desire to father a child with another person and my magic that make it possible. I have, in my life span, fathered ten children. If I were to father a child with a Muggle -- a non-magical mortal -- the child would then be Immortal. If I were to father the child with a magic-user, the child would be both an Immortal and a magic-user." Adam explained.

"I'm incredibly jealous of you right now. You know that, right?" Duncan said in a very subdued voice. Duncan had always wanted children, he loved Ritchie and the young man was family as far as he was concerned, but they didn't have the parent-child relationship that Duncan longed for. Ritchie was more like a younger brother.

Adam moved out of his chair and walked around the desk, never losing eye contact with his lover.

"My magic also makes it possible for me to conceive and carry a child, although I never have."

Duncan stared up at his lover in shock. "YOU can carry a baby?"

Adam crouched in front of Duncan and reached out to caress the side of his face. "Yes I can. Like I said, it's about the desire to have a child with the other person and my magic. But when it comes to male pregnancy, it's all about the magic. Anyone with magic can conceive and carry a child."

"I think, though, before we worry about that, we need to talk about the reason this all came out. Like I told you, in my life I have fathered ten children. Harry Potter is a decedent of one of those children and he is asking for my help in training him. I could no more refuse him than I would any of my decedents." Adam paused as he stood up and moved to look out the window of his office.

"I'd love to have you help me train him. You're an amazing fighter and swordsman, much better than me. I'd like to bring him here from England to teach him. He has magic, so he will no doubt need to be back in England for the new school year." Adam turned around and sat on the window ledge, meeting his lover's eyes. "That would still give us two and a half months to train him."

"School year? There's a school for this stuff?" Duncan held up his hand when Adam opened his mouth to respond. "Of course there is," he mumbled before standing and walking towards Adam. "I'll help. But, what with getting passports and all the paperwork, we are probably looking at barely two months of training".

Adam smiled up at his lover as Duncan stopped in front of him. "I plan to use my magic. It'll only take me a second to apparate over there. I'll conjure up the necessary paperwork and pick him up. I'll need to deal with Petunia and get him packed but I should be back with him in a couple of hours."

"Well then, I had better head back to the loft and get the guest room straightened out for him. Somehow I doubt he'd be as comfortable on the couch as Ritchie is," Duncan reached out and drew his hand down Adam's cheek, "especially if he's going to be here the whole summer."

"I think you can spare a minute or two for a proper kiss. After all, the loft is only across the street." Adam turned his head and kissed the palm of the hand resting on his face before leaning forward and capturing the warm lips of his lover. Stepping back, Adam whispered his thanks and disappeared with a faint pop.

"Well, I guess that's what he meant by 'apparate over there'." Duncan gave a sigh and headed home to clean out the guest room. Maybe the mindless work of straightening up the room would help him organize his thoughts and deal with the shocks of the afternoon; if not, he could always do a few katas.

By the time Duncan had returned to the small rare bookstore below Adam's office, his lover was already ringing the buzzer at #4 Privet Drive.


	3. Chapter 3

Adam leaned on the doorbell, waiting for Petunia to answer the door. He wondered if she would be as much of a bitch now as she had been when he had come to train Lily. God, she'd been a jealous, spiteful little thing when she found out that not only was Lily a witch who got to go to a special school while Petunia had to attend Stonewall, but Lily was also going to get to travel around the world for the next few summers with her "uncle," Adam. But his descendant, Jarrod, and Rose had each had children from a previous marriage before they married each other: Petunia was Rose's daughter, while Lily was Jarrod's. The two girls shared no blood, even though Rose had become Lily's legal guardian when she married Jarrod. Adam could not take Petunia on those summer trips and still teach Lily the secrets she had needed to learn to survive. Besides, Petunia's behavior towards Lily in those days had been unforgivable. The nasty comments and purposeful destruction of anything Lily left at home when she was away was enough that Adam had to fight the urge to transfigure the brat into a stinkweed.

"Sure to be one of those freaks, leaning on the door buzzer like that. No manners at all." Petunia mumbled as she hurried through the house to answer the door.

"What!" Petunia snapped as she swung the door open. She took one look at the man standing on her front porch, grinning at her, and started to slam the door shut. Adam quickly shoved at the door, causing it to swing back in.

"I'm here for Harry."

"Oh no," Petunia shook her head back and forth. "Absolutely NOT! I will not have you rewarding that little freak by taking him around the world like you did my sister. It wasn't fair that I was left behind and I won't have my son left behind just because you prefer green-eyed freaks to normal people!"

"Mom?" Dudley questioned, stepping out of his bedroom and into the hallway to look down at his mother. Dudley had changed a lot over the school year. He had stopped bullying the other kids, paid more attention to school and stuck to his diet -- well, mostly stuck to it, it was really hard not to have a burger and chips with his friends once in a while -- but despite sticking to the diet, he was still quite obese. The nurse at school had told his parents that he needed to see a doctor, but his parents hadn't taken him. They said he was just big boned and had lost too much weight as it was. Dudley didn't agree but he kept his mouth shut and waited for his cousin to come home from his school, hoping that maybe there was a magical answer to his weight problem. But every time he tried to talk to Harry, one of his parents would show up and make it impossible. Dudley had figured out that being a wizard didn't really make Harry any different, it just meant that he could do stuff other people couldn't. Like his friend Anton speaking a different language or Millie singing her songs. Neither of which were things he could do.

Adam cocked his head to the side and looked at the boy Petunia wanted him to include. Well, well, well… that was certainly a surprise. Petunia must have married a pre-Immortal. While only someone with magic could father a child after their first death, a pre-Immortal could father a child before their first death, though doing that usually meant their Quickening passed on to their child, leaving them mortal and the child a pre-Immortal.

"Alright, Pet. I'll take your son as well." Adam gave Dudley a wink before grinning wolfishly at the woman in front of him.

Petunia was startled. She had begged to go with every summer that Adam had come for Lily and he had always refused with a quiet 'Sorry, Pet,' and off he went with her sister. Lily always sent postcards but never once had she received a souvenir from Adam.

"Take me where, Mom?" Dudley asked, walking down the stairs towards them.

"I'm taking you and Harry to America for the summer." Adam replied to the overly large boy standing in front of him.

"Who are you?"

"You can call me Adam."

"You aren't taking Harry anywhere. That boy has to stay here in the house for his own protection." Petunia interrupted the conversation.

"Yeah, I noticed the blood wards. We can take care of that easily enough." Adam responded before turning back to Dudley. "Go pack for the rest of the summer… Mind you, not too much stuff. We can buy you new clothes as you lose weight and trust me, boy, you are going to lose weight. You're a heart attack waiting to happen at that size." Adam said.

"Yes, sir." Dudley mumbled with a blush before heading back up there stairs.

"Y-you! You bastard! How dare you! That's my son and he's already lost more then enough weight. Too much if you ask me. Need to put some meat on those bones!"

"You're the one who needs meat on your bones, Petunia." Adam stated as he began walking up the stairs to where he felt the magical presence. "A little more meat and maybe people wouldn't notice your striking resemblance to a horse with a baby giraffe neck."

Petunia sputtered and fumed as Adam knocked on the door to Harry's room.


	4. Chapter 4

Harry looked up from the book he was reading at the knock on his bedroom door. He grabbed his wand before going to open the door. One thing was sure, whoever was on the other side of the door, it wasn't one of the Durselys; they didn't knock so much as beat on the door before bellowing for him to do something. Cracking the door open, he eyed the dark-haired, hawk-nosed man on the other side.

"Well, are you going to let me in or not? It's not like we have a lot of time if we're going to get you trained," Adam said with a grin. His grin quickly turned into a frown as the door opened further and he got his first good look at the boy. The kid was dangerously thin, with ill-fitting clothes and haunted green eyes.

"Well, a lot more work than I thought, although it should be easier to get you to gain weight then for Dudley to lose it." Adam said, more to himself than to Harry, who was still quietly studying the man in front of him.

"No offense, but who are you?" The young man asked, a bit nervously.

"Adam Pierson. You sent me a letter asking for training and, as you are one of my descendents; I would no more refuse you than I did your mother." Adam answered.

Harry's eyes lit with a spark of hope at the thought that he would finally be able to defend himself.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's get you packed up." Adam said, making a shooing gesture to indicate that they should get moving.

"Packed up? I'm sorry, sir, but I'm not even supposed to go outside the house! I couldn't leave…" Harry trailed off as Mr. Pierson shook his head.

"The blood wards. Yes, I noticed them when I came in, although how they were erected is beyond me. However, we can solve that with a bit of diamond quartz from Merlin's Cavern and a few drops of your blood." Adam said as he held out his hand and Willed a small piece of the Quartz from what was essentially the entrance to Merlin's tomb.

Harry watched in disbelief as a bit of what looked like bluish quartz appeared in his new teacher's hand. The man hadn't even touched a wand or uttered a spell!

"How did you do that? Can you teach me to do that?" Harry asked breathlessly.

"We will have to test your magic and see if you are strong enough to do it. For now, however, I am going to need 10 drops of your blood. So, if you wouldn't mind pricking your finger for me..." With that, Adam Willed the quartz into an image of a petunia. When Harry added his blood, the little sculpture looked like a ruby.

"All right then, Harry, you get to packing. We are going to be training in Seacouver, Washington in the States. And just so you know, Dudley is a pre-Immortal, like you, and will be coming with us for training." Adam said absently as he concentrated on creating a gold chain and piercing the blood-red flower. When he was finished with the bauble, he told Harry to finish up and meet him downstairs, which finally got the shocked Harry moving around the room.

Adam left the room; he was going to have to have a serious talk with Petunia about exactly how he felt about child abuse and neglect.

"Oh Pet…" Adam sing-songed as he walked down the stairs. "We have something we need to discuss."

When Petunia appeared in the entranceway, he slung his arm over her shoulders and led her into the living room, where he proceeded to tell her exactly what he thought of her and her husband and that Harry -- and Dudley, should he choose it -- would never return to this house. As he walked back to the foyer, Adam stopped in the doorway and tossed the necklace he had made at her.

"Put it on and wear it always. It's the only protection Harry or I will offer you and your husband. As long as you wear it, the wards protecting your home will remain intact, no matter what anyone tells you. Even the wizard that placed the wards will not be able to bring them down now."

Petunia picked up the necklace that had landed on her lap with shaking hands and quietly did as she was told and put it on. She watched as her son and nephew hurried down to join Adam Pierson.

"Bye, Mom. Love you." Dudley said with a wave.

Adam placed a hand on the shoulder of each boy and gave a lavish grin and wink at Petunia before he apparated the boys and their belongings to the home he shared with Duncan in the States.

Petunia spent the rest of the day on the couch, nervously trying to come up with an explanation for her husband about where their son was and why he'd gone with their fr- er, nephew and another of his kind.


	5. Chapter 5

Duncan blinked at the trio that appeared in the middle of his living room. He had never seen two boys who were such opposites. One was grossly overweight and stood about 5'10, the other was skinnier than Ritchie had been when Duncan had taken him off the streets, and stood three inches shorter than the fat boy.

"So, out of curiosity Adam, why are there two of them?" Duncan decided to ask, since the boys seemed to need a minute to adjust to their change in location. To be honest, Duncan himself felt like he would need a few DAYS to adjust to the fact that they had just appeared in the room from ENGLAND.

"Dudley, er, we have to think up a nickname for the poor kid. Dudley is just not a name the kids here in America are going to leave alone. Between his weight and his name they are going to tease him endlessly," Adam switched back to the original question, "Dudley is a pre-Immortal as well, and since he is legally Harry's cousin that makes him my responsibility too. He's going to need training… both in sword fighting and in weight management."

Duncan gave a nod as walked over to the boys and held out his hand. "Hi, I'm Duncan McLeod."

"Harry Potter, sir." Harry reached out and shook the man's hand.

"Dudley Dursley." Dudley said when the man turned to him. Then Dudley turned to Adam "I've always hated my name anyway, sir. I'd be happy to have a nickname."

"Well, we will get to that later. Let's get you guys settled in your room. You're going to have to share, since there are only two bedrooms here. Speaking of which…" Duncan turned to his lover. "There's only one bed; you're going to have to do something about that."

"It'll cost ya." Adam answered his fellow Immortal with a wicked glint in his eyes.

"Oh yeah? And why should I pay? I'm not going to have to sleep in it." Duncan shot back. "Besides, I agreed to train one kid, now there are two… That's going to cost you!" He said with a smile.

Adam gave the dark-haired man a swat on the ass as he walked past, towards what would be the boy's bedroom. Both Harry and Dudley chuckled at the obvious teasing that was going on between the men.

With the bed situation settled by the Immortal using his magic to split the queen-sized bed in half, the boys were left to settle in and put their stuff away while Duncan and Adam had a discussion about what to do. The situation was now more complicated than their original plan of just teaching sword fighting and martial arts. They were going to have to set up weight management for the two boys; one needed to gain weight and one needed to lose weight, fast.

"I'll be honest, Adam; he couldn't possibly lose enough weight to start real training before the end of the summer. I think we'll be able to get some basics in but other than that, I think his real training will have to wait until next summer." Duncan said, thinking about the obese boy. That was going to be the real problem; Harry would put on weight naturally if they fed him well and got some muscle on him with the exercise part of his training, but at his weight, Dudley wasn't going to be able to participate in the training sessions for long. He just wouldn't have the stamina to keep up.

"I believe there may be a potion we can use to help speed up the process. I will look into it, but if there isn't, then I agree. But we need to keep him here and work on his weight with him. His mother thinks -- and this is a direct quote, mind you -- that, 'he's already lost more then enough weight. Too much if you ask me. Need to put some meat on those bones!'" Adam said in a high-pitched voice.

Duncan looked at his lover, appalled that a parent would be so oblivious to the health risks her child faced at that weight.

"Right, we'll keep him here. He'll lose the weight and get the basics this summer. More, if there is a potion to help out. Next summer, he can get more advanced training. Now, Harry is going to need some clothes. I know baggy is in, but for crying out loud, that's just ridiculous."

Adam proceeded to tell Duncan about Harry's situation and exactly what kind of guardians the Dursleys had been. Duncan was in complete agreement that Harry would not be returning to their _'loving'_ care.

While the two Immortals were having their discussion, Harry and Dudley had a talk of their own.

"I'm really sorry, Harry." Dudley said awkwardly as he stood next to his bed. "I've been trying to talk to you the last couple weeks, but every time I did, one of my parents interrupted me. I really am sorry I was such a bastard. I made some new friends at school, you know. They can do loads of things I can't, like speak other languages and play the piano and sing. I figure magic is just like that, yeah? Just something you can do that I can't. I was wrong. My parents are wrong. And, well, I'd really like to try and be cousins and maybe friends?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'd like that. Apology accepted, Dudley, thanks."

Dudley gave a grin and stuck out his hand. "Dudley Dursley."

Harry returned the grin and shook his cousin's hand. "Harry Potter."


	6. Chapter 6

The two Immortals decided they would begin training the boys the next day. Since it was just after lunch, Adam went to research weight loss potions while Duncan was put in charge of getting Harry and Dudley set up to begin their training the next day.

Duncan started out by questioning the two boys about their eating habits, portion sizes and types of food. He also asked about favorite foods and stuff they hated. He was in shock at the diet that Dudley had been put on. Of course the boy wasn't losing any weight. His body was in starvation mode.

Duncan had to explain to Dudley that he wasn't eating enough calories so his body was actually storing everything it did get for emergencies instead of burning it as energy. In the end, Duncan decided that what Dudley really needed was to learn portion control and how to choose a well-balanced meal.

It seemed Harry, on the other hand, would eat just about anything you put in front of him. And considering how his Aunt and Uncle had fed him, that wasn't all that surprising. They wouldn't need to do anything for Harry except make sure he knew it was all right to eat whenever he was hungry and to eat until he was satisfied, even if it meant seconds.

After getting the diet questions taken care of, Duncan decided to take the boys to get proper training gear. While Harry was going to need more then just training gear, Adam and Duncan had both agreed that buying him a wardrobe now would be a waste of money, since they figured he would outgrow everything as his body filled out over the summer.

Each of the boys picked out two pairs of tennis shoes, three sweat suits, two pair of jogging pants and some t-shirts. Harry also got three new pairs of jeans for everyday wear as well as two button-up shirts and a red t-shirt that said 'I'm Magically Delicious' in gold lettering.

The boys were then dragged through the bookstore while groaning at the thought that their training was going to include… gasp homework! Duncan grabbed books for both of the boys on meditation, physical training basics and guidelines, a history of sword fighting, several theory books on different forms of martial arts; he also included books on anatomy, eating healthy and food journals. It was nearing dinnertime, so they headed over to the Farmers Market and picked up some groceries before heading back to the loft over the dojo.

Adam was right; there was a potion to help Dudley lose weight. Dudley would take one tablespoon with every meal, including snacks; combined with healthy eating and exercise, the potion would allow Dudley to lose weight twice as fast as he would otherwise. The limit was that Dudley could only take the potion for twelve weeks total over the course of his lifetime, but since there was only time for ten weeks of training over the summer, hopefully that wouldn't be a problem. Adam figured that by the time Dudley returned to school, his new eating and training habits would help him to continue to at least maintain his weight while he was away.

Duncan had informed his lover that he felt that Dudley needed to lose a total of one hundred and seventy-five pounds before he would be at an acceptable weight for his height and age. Duncan was really glad that their was a potion to help out with the weight loss, although it still meant that Dudley's real training would have to take place the following summer, as most of this summer would be spent on just getting him down to a normal weight. But hopefully, once Dudley got on the right kind of diet, he would lose nearly all the weight he needed to by the end of the summer, with the help of the potion.


	7. Chapter 7

After dinner, the boys were sent to their room to put away their new belongings while Duncan and Adam sat down and worked out a schedule.

Duncan mentioned to Adam how Dudley had struggled to read some of the titles of the books he had purchased for the boys. It might not be a bad idea to work on some academic subjects with Dudley to help him with his reading and schooling. Adam admitted that he had planned on adding magical training for Harry, but that the magical community did not continue teaching kids any of the Muggle school subjects after they began their magical training, but Duncan felt that while Dudley obviously didn't need the magical academics, Harry should be schooled in non-magical subjects.

Adam pointed out that even though Dudley could not perform magic, his cousin was a part of the wizarding world and he should understand it. In the end, it was agreed that Dudley would study magical history, although not to as large an extent as Harry would.

The boys were called out and the schedule was explained to them.

"Now, I don't want you to worry if it seems like more exercise then you feel you can do. You will do as much as you're capable of." Adam told them when he saw Dudley's eyes bulge at the schedule he'd been handed.

"That's right. I put down Running for one hour but I don't mean you have to run five miles in one hour. I honestly expect you to try, Dudley, but if you only run half a mile in that hour then that's fine," Duncan confirmed. "But this is the schedule we want you to be capable of by the end of the summer. There are three meals a day on your schedule. You will be allowed healthy snacks during the day, but there will be no candy, no ice cream, cake or cookies." Duncan stared straight at Dudley for that last part.

"Yes, sir," the boys chorused.

"All right, then, off to bed with you and we will see you in the morning," Adam said with a smile.

The boys returned to their room, Harry obviously tired but excited about the summer. Adam was sure that excitement would die down after the first few days of hard training. Dudley, on the other hand, was already complaining about the schedule, although it was clear that he accepted that it was meant to help him.

Harry's Schedule

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

5 am

warm up stretches – 5:15 running

warm up stretches – 5:15 running

warm up stretches – 5:15 running

warm up stretches – 5:15 running

warm up stretches – 5:15 running

warm up stretches – 5:15 running

warm up stretches – 5:15 running

6 am

running – 6:15 cool down stretches – 6:30 meditation

running – 6:15 cool down stretches – 6:30 meditation

running – 6:15 cool down stretches – 6:30 meditation

running – 6:15 cool down stretches – 6:30 meditation

running – 6:15 cool down stretches – 6:30 meditation

running – 6:15 cool down stretches – 6:30 meditation

running – 6:15 cool down stretches – 6:30 meditation

7 am

Breakfast

Breakfast

Breakfast

Breakfast

Breakfast

Breakfast

Breakfast

8 am

Weapons - history & safety

Weapons - Sword

Weapons - history & safety

Weapons – Sword

Weapons - history & safety

Weapons - Sword

Martial arts

9 am

Weapons - Sword

Weapons - Sword & hand to hand

Weapons - Sword

Weapons - Sword & hand to hand

Weapons - Sword

Weapons - Sword & hand to hand

Martial arts

10 am

Martial arts theory

Martial arts

Martial arts theory

Martial arts

Martial arts theory

Martial arts

Free time

11 am

Martial arts -

Anatomy & nutrition

Martial arts

Anatomy & nutrition

Martial arts

Anatomy & nutrition

Free time

12 pm

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

1 pm

Muggle History

Magical History

Muggle History

Magical History

Geography

Politics

Swimming Lessons

2 pm

Computers

English

Computers

English

Computers

English

Swimming Lessons

3 pm

Muggle Math

Arithmancy

Muggle Math

Arithmancy

Muggle Math

Arithmancy

Gymnastics

4 pm

Transfiguration

Charms

Potions

Transfiguration

Charms

Potions

Gymnastics

5 pm

Dinner

Dinner

Dinner

Dinner

Dinner

Dinner

Dinner

6 pm

Weight training

Boxing

Weight training

Boxing

Weight training

Finances – magical & muggle

free time

7 pm

DADA

DADA

DADA

DADA

DADA

free time

free time

8 pm

Hygiene/ free time

Hygiene/ free time

Hygiene/ free time

Hygiene/ free time

Hygiene/ free time

Hygiene/ free time

Hygiene/ free time

9 pm

Lights Out

Lights Out

Lights Out

Lights Out

Lights Out

Lights Out

Lights Out

Dudley's Schedule

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

5 am

warm up stretches – 5:15 running

warm up stretches – 5:15 running

warm up stretches – 5:15 running

warm up stretches – 5:15 running

warm up stretches – 5:15 running

warm up stretches – 5:15 running

warm up stretches – 5:15 running

6 am

running – 6:15 cool down stretches – 6:30 meditation

running – 6:15 cool down stretches – 6:30 meditation

running – 6:15 cool down stretches – 6:30 meditation

running – 6:15 cool down stretches – 6:30 meditation

running – 6:15 cool down stretches – 6:30 meditation

running – 6:15 cool down stretches – 6:30 meditation

running – 6:15 cool down stretches – 6:30 meditation

7 am

Breakfast

Breakfast

Breakfast

Breakfast

Breakfast

Breakfast

Breakfast

8 am

Weapons - history & safety

Weapons - Sword

Weapons - history & safety

Weapons – Sword

Weapons - history & safety

Weapons - Sword

Martial arts

9 am

Weapons - Sword

Weapons - Sword & hand to hand

Weapons - Sword

Weapons - Sword & hand to hand

Weapons - Sword

Weapons - Sword & hand to hand

Martial arts

10 am

Martial arts theory

Martial arts

Martial arts theory

Martial arts

Martial arts theory

Martial arts

Free time

11 am

Martial arts -

Anatomy & nutrition

Martial arts

Anatomy & nutrition

Martial arts

Anatomy & nutrition

Free time

12 pm

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch

1 pm

History

History

History

History

Geography

Politics

Swimming Lessons

2 pm

Computers

Computers

Computers

Computers

Computers

Computers

Swimming Lessons

3 pm

Math

Math

Math

Math

Math

Math

Gymnastics

4 pm

English

English

English

English

English

English

Gymnastics

5 pm

Dinner

Dinner

Dinner

Dinner

Dinner

Dinner

Dinner

6 pm

Exercise

Finances

Exercise

Magical History

Exercise

Finances

free time

7 pm

Weight training

Boxing

Weight training

Boxing

Weight training

boxing

free time

8 pm

free time

free time

free time

free time

free time

free time

free time

9 pm

Hygiene/ lights out

Hygiene/ lights out

Hygiene/ lights out

Hygiene/ lights out

Hygiene/ lights out

Hygiene/ lights out

Hygiene/ lights out


	8. Chapter 8

Adam had been right about both boys. After one week of the heavy schedule, Harry was much less enthused about the training but continued on with a dogged determination to succeed, without one word of complaint. Dudley, on the other hand, complained and whined constantly but accepted that the schedule was necessary and never refused to do as he was told.

When the end of the week rolled around, Harry had gained six pounds and while he couldn't run the whole hour in the morning, he was running for about forty-five minutes before he slowed to a walk.

Dudley, however, was still walking the entire hour. He had only managed to lose three pounds despite taking the potion at every meal. This confused Adam, since he was sure that he had brewed the potion correctly and even without the potion, the food and daily exercise should have caused more weight loss than Dudley was experiencing.

Adam was just about to pick up the potions book and set about brewing a new potion; it was possible that he had used an expired ingredient and that was what was causing the potion to react differently then it should, when Harry burst from the bedroom he shared with his cousin.

"Dudley's doing magic!" the words left Harry's his mouth at a near shout.

Adam was on his feet in an instant, rushing to help the boys. Adam stopped in the doorway and blinked. Every bit of the furniture in the room seemed to be shaking and spinning crazily, drawers and doors were opening and shutting of their own accord and Dudley had managed to levitate himself and his bed, the only piece of furniture not intent on shaking itself apart, more than two feet off the ground.

Adam could tell by the look on the boy's face that, while he was terrified now, he had been crying and crying hard.

"Dudley, listen to me." Adam coaxed as he eased into the room. When Dudley didn't respond, Adam tried a sterner, louder tone that got the boy's attention. Then, gently, "Dudley, its okay. Everything is okay. I want you to close your eyes and take a deep breath. Just like meditation, Dudley. You need to close your eyes and calm yourself." Adam noticed that the furniture, while still caught in the wild magic in the room, was settling down. He reached his hand out towards the bed that Dudley was levitating on and took over the spell so that once the magic calmed down and stopped, the bed and the boy would not suddenly drop two feet to the ground.

"That's it. Nothing here is going to hurt you. Everything is fine" Adam continued to mummer soothing words and he slowly lowered the bed to the floor. As soon the bed settled, Adam found himself with his arms full of an extremely upset teenager.

"W wh whats happening to me?" Dudley cried.

Adam continued to soothe Dudley, his mind racing. If Dudley was a wizard -- and by the looks of things, he was -- it explained quite a bit.

"Dudley, let's sit down, okay? We need to talk. Harry, why don't you take a seat on the other bed," said Adam, leading Dudley to his own bed.

Dudley had been raised from birth to hate and fear magic. He had watched how his parents treated his cousin and had been rewarded for bullying the smaller boy because of Harry's magic. Adam was sure that Dudley's fear of being treated like Harry by his parents, along with the positive reinforcement for behaving the way he had towards Harry, had caused Dudley to subconsciously lock away the magic.

"So I'm a wizard and now that I don't hate Harry or magic anymore, my subconscious is unlocking my magic?" Dudley asked.

"That's it exactly. Your acceptance of magic and your cousin have removed your fear to such an extent that your subconscious is no longer fighting with the magic to hold it in." Adam stood up and ran a hand through his hair.

"So Dudley is going to come to Hogwarts with me this year?" Harry asked.

"Yes I believe that is best. We will switch Dudley over to your schedule so that he won't have to start as a first year, but he will mostly likely be an independent study student this year. I will do what I can, but even I cannot teach him five years of magic in two months." Adam answered Harry before turning to Dudley.

"Great. Just great! It's bad enough I suck at regular school; now I get to be the Special Ed. kid at magic school!" Dudley snarked as he stood up and began to pace.

"Dudley, try to stay calm. Getting worked up won't solve anything and it might cause more accidental magic. As far as 'sucking' at school, this is most likely the reason for your learning disability. I also think this may be the original cause of your weight gain and why you're not losing weight as fast as you should now."

"I don't understand; why would it cause weight gain or my problems with school?"

"Dudley, magic has to go somewhere. What you need to understand is that you, in and of yourself, do not have any more magic than any other living thing on this planet. It's just that you, Harry and I can use the magic that flows through us. But that's the key: it flows _through_ us. Magic is everywhere; the air, the water, the earth. We breath it in, we consume it at meal time, we bathe our selves in it. Everybody does. Not just you or me but your parents, Duncan, _everyone._ What sets wizards apart is that something in us traps the magic within our bodies and allows us to use it. It's like the moisture in the air, it builds up and eventually becomes rain because that moisture has to go somewhere. You subconsciously locked down your ability to release that magic. It had to go somewhere, because you weren't using it like Harry or I would." Adam paused trying to see if Dudley was understanding this.

"So a spell is like the rain, then; is that what you're saying?" Dudley responded.

"Yes, Dudley. A spell is like a light summer rain. But if it just builds and builds, you get a heavy shower. Harry and I don't fight our magic, so along with the spells that we do, our bodies also release small amounts of magic just like we do body heat. This helps keep the magic from building up and exploding out of us. What I think happened was that your body had to do something with the magic, so it started to store it in your fat cells. As a matter of fact, I think if we weighed you right now, you'd weigh less than you did earlier today. Not a great amount less, but at least a pound or two."

"Okay, I'm following the weight thing. But why would you think that it would cause Dudley's learning problem?" Harry asked.

"The subconscious is a part of our minds. Dudley was using a large portion of his to fight the magic. That meant that while he could learn, those mental abilities were limited. Like using something that requires two batteries when you only have one.


	9. Chapter 9

By the beginning of August things were going well. The boys were both able to follow the schedule that had been set for them, although at a slower pace than what Duncan and Methos were capable of maintaining. Harry was putting on weight, mostly muscle. Dudley's weight loss was coming along extremely well, now that the real problem with his weight loss had been tackled. With the potion, new eating habits and exercise schedule, Dudley was averaging a weight loss of sixteen and a half pounds a week.

Adam's big problem, however, was their magical training. Dudley's ignorance was understandable, but Harry not knowing the basic principles of magical theory was unacceptable. The fact that these things weren't even taught at Hogwarts was inexcusable. Adam had called for help to correct the problem, but now he would have to tell Harry who he had been, not the Adam he knew now or the stories he had been told of Methos, or the truth behind Death on a Pale Horse, but who he had been one thousand years ago. Duncan would also have to be told the truth.

With a sigh, Adam headed to the kitchen. After grabbing a beer he hopped on a bar stool at the breakfast bar. "We need to talk."

Duncan glanced at the two boys, who were working on their nutrition assignments at the kitchen table while he prepared lunch and answered questions. He glanced at Adam with one eyebrow raised.

"Boys, why don't you go finish your assignments in your room?" Adam said in response to Duncan's unasked question.

"What if we have questions?" Dudley asked as his cousin started gathering his books and pencils. While Dudley was finding schoolwork much easier than it had been, it was still harder for him then it was for Harry.

"I'll help you, Dudley." Harry responded as he started to gather Dudley's stuff as well.

"What if you don't know the answer, though?" Dudley whined. He really wanted to do well, especially now that there was nothing holding him back.

"Write it down if you can't figure it out. We will go over them at the next nutrition class." Duncan answered.

It looked like Dudley was going to make another comment when Harry started tugging on his sleeve.

"They want to _talk,_" Harry hissed at his cousin. "You know, adult stuff," Harry continued in a whisper.

"Oh. OH!" Dudley quickly grabbed his belongings and followed his cousin from the room.

Duncan closed his eyes and groaned as Adam chuckled.

"So, what is so important that it couldn't wait until later tonight, when they have free time?" Duncan asked as he went back to chopping bell peppers for the stir fry they would be having for lunch.

"Connor and Amanda will be here tomorrow." Adam looked down at the bottle cap he was playing with before continuing. "Duncan, you know that Connor has magic. You thought he got it from the illusionist whose head he took. But he has always had magic, just like me. And I don't care how good a thief you are; there's no way to pull off half the stuff Amanda has without magic." Adam looked up to gauge Duncan's reaction.

Duncan paused mid-chop with his head bowed. With a deep breath, he finished chopping the bell pepper before dumping the whole cutting board of sliced and chopped vegetables into the sink and turning on the disposal.

"I'm trying really hard, Adam. I've seen so much. Hell, I'm a five-hundred-year-old Immortal; I can understand that there may be more to this world than what I have seen so far. But it seems that as soon as I've gained some kind of footing in this, you go and shove me off kilter with something new." After drying his hands and tossing the towel on the counter, Duncan headed out of the kitchen area and towards the bedroom.

"Order pizza for lunch; Dudley can have two slices. No bacon or pepperoni. Get them a side salad as well. I'll be back later." With that, Duncan changed directions and grabbed his coat before walking out the door.

"Well, that went well." Adam sighed, dropping his head to the counter top.


	10. Chapter 10

"Hey, where's Duncan?" Dudley asked when the boys came out of their room for lunch.

"He needed some time. He'll be back later. Look, during lunch we need to have a serious talk." Adam told the boys.

"Are you and Duncan fighting?" Dudley asked.

"Duncan is upset with me, but we will work it out on our own. Don't worry about it. Come on, pizza's getting cold."

After sitting at the table and making sure that Dudley knew his portion size and that they both had to eat their side salads, Adam began to explain.

"This is going to make more sense to Harry at the moment, although you're going to have some vague idea of what I am talking about, Dudley. I've told you stories of my time in ancient Egypt when I was a boy, and I've told you about the time I spent as Death on a Pale Horse. You both understand that I am thousands of years old, the oldest Immortal alive."

Adam waited for both boys to nod their heads in acknowledgement of the information before he went on. "There are other Immortals that are very old. Two of them are coming here tomorrow. They are both over a thousand years old. Their names are Connor Macleod and Amanda Raven. But a thousand years ago they were known as Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw." Adam paused and took a sip of beer.

"You were Salazar Slytherin" Harry exclaimed. "But you were evil!"

"I wasn't evil, Harry. Connor and I had a lot of disagreements about the children that would be taught at Hogwarts. Muggles were burning witches and wizards at the stake, stoning them to death. The Ministry of Magic had just finished the process of hiding our world from them. I felt that bringing Muggleborns to Hogwarts meant jeopardizing us all," Adam explained.

"But the basilisk, Voldemort?" Harry questioned.

"Voldemort is not a blood descendent of mine. His mother was adopted because Melia couldn't conceive. How or why he is a parselmouth I couldn't tell you. But being a parselmouth does not automatically make you a Slytherin, Harry; yes, you are a parselmouth because it is a trait that follows my bloodline, but it isn't ours exclusively. As for the basilisk, the chamber was built to house her. All of the other founders knew she was there. She was to be a last defense of the school; if the school ever falls to hostile forces, Hogwarts will unleash her."

"Well, that's kinda out the window, 'cause I had to kill her when that maniac set her on me in second year!" Harry shouted.

"Harry, calm down," Duncan commanded from the doorway.

"I'm sorry that he figured out how to get down there. I am sorry that my snake listened to him simply because he was a parselmouth. But you must understand that, a thousand years ago, it was a good idea. I should have gone back long ago and gotten rid of her when there were new and better ways to protect the castle, but I just let sleeping dogs lie. I'm sorry that you had to pay for that mistake."

"So if you and Godric didn't fight about the snake, and you didn't fight about being evil, why did you leave the school?" Dudley asked.

When Adam and Harry looked at him questioningly, Dudley informed them that he had read _Hogwarts: A History_.

"Connor and I fought about a lot of things; mostly, however, it was about Muggleborn students. Connor and I had just had a huge fight and we were not speaking to each other when the children came back from winter break. One of my Slytherins had been invited to a Muggleborn's home for the holidays and rather than stay at the castle, he went. When they didn't return, I went to find them. The parents had tortured the boy, demanding that he 'undo the evil' that had been done to their good, God-fearing child. They wanted him to take away their son's magic." Adam paused. After taking a deep breath he continued. "I took my sword and I cut an arm off of each parent, I made sure that they would live. And I took both the students back to the school. I didn't know that the Muggleborn had known, that he had brought a boy who had only wanted to be his friend to them, knowing what his parents intended. When this was learned, the Muggleborn ran away into the Forbidden Forest before he could be punished. I don't know what happened to him, but I do know that he never made it home. Two days after the boy ran, my student killed himself. Connor told me that if I took my revenge that I could not return to the school or he would take my head. I packed my personal belongings and left that night." Adam finished.

"So tomorrow, three of the four founders of Hogwarts will be here? Why not all four?" Harry asked in a subdued tone.

"Helga's head was taken three years after she left Hogwarts. She was the youngest of us, barely one hundred years when the school was founded. I am telling you this because Hogwarts is not what it should be. There is a basic foundation that every child should be taught. And yet, Harry, you've been there for five years and haven't even been taught the basic theory of that foundation. Connor and Amanda will be here tomorrow and we will decide what is to be done. This is our school; even if we have not been there for hundreds of years, it is still our responsibility. It is quite likely that you will see the return of the founders to Hogwarts, at least until we are satisfied that it meets our standards."

"WOW!" 'Moine and Ron will go ape!" Harry said excitedly.

"Yeah, well, they are gonna go ape on you. You haven't written them once since we've been here, ya know." Dudley Interrupted.

"Oh shit!" Harry jumped up and ran for his room, intent on sending a letter to his best friends.

"I'm gonna go finish my nutrition assignment." Dudley said as he stood and followed Harry out of the room.

"Classes are cancelled for the rest of the day, Dudley. We'll pick it up again tomorrow." Duncan called after the boy as he took a seat at the table. "We need to talk, Adam."


End file.
